Aaron Palushaj was not give a qualifying offer by the Colorado Avalanche and becomes an unrestricted free agent. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Say goodbye to Aaron Palushaj. We hardly knew ye, Paloosh.

I thought he did a lot of good things with the Avs, but the team elected not to give the Michigan native a qualifying offer today. So he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Matt Hunwick and Greg Zanon were placed on waivers earlier today. If nobody claims them, they remain property of the Avs. I would guess that Hunwick will get picked up by someone, but I’m not too sure about Zanon.

Paul Stastny goes on a breakaway in a game against the Edmonton Oilers this season.(Andy Cross / The Denver Post)

In 10 games as Team USA’s captain at the World Championship, Avalanche center Paul Stastny amassed a team-high 15 points (seven goals). The Americans went 7-3, including Sunday’s 3-2 overtime/shootout victory over Finland for the bronze medal. Stastny factored in on both regulation goals, scoring the second after setting up the first. It was Team USA’s first medal since 2004 and just third overall since 1963.

The Americans’ average age was 24.8. Avs defensemen Erik Johnson and Matt Hunwick and Colorado forward Aaron Palushaj were also on the team, plus former University of Denver defensemen Matt Carle of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chris Butler of the Calgary Flames.

“We came together as a team and this group was able to achieve something only two other teams have done in the last 50 years for our country and that’s win a medal. It’s not easy,” said Team USA coach Joe Sacco, the former Avs bench boss. “I thought we had terrific leadership on this team, and our captain, Paul Stastny, was such a key factor both on and off the ice. You win as a team and ultimately that’s why we were successful.”

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.